title: Percutaneous toxicity and decontamination of soman, VX, and paraoxon in rats using detergents.
abstract: Highly toxic organophosphorus compounds (OPs) were originally developed for warfare or as agricultural pesticides. Today, OPs represent a serious threat to military personnel and civilians. This study investigates the in vivo decontamination of male Wistar rats percutaneously exposed to paraoxon and two potent nerve agents--soman (GD) and VX. Four commercial detergents were tested as decontaminants--Neodekont(TM), Argos(TM), Dermogel(TM), and FloraFree(TM). Decontamination performed 2 min after exposure resulted in a higher survival rate in comparison with non-decontaminated controls. The decontamination effectiveness was expressed as protective ratio (PR, median lethal dose of agent in decontaminated animals divided by the median lethal dose of agent in untreated animals). The highest decontamination effectiveness was consistently achieved with Argos(TM) (PR=2.3 to 64.8), followed by Dermogel(TM) (PR=2.4 to 46.1). Neodekont(TM) and FloraFree(TM) provided the lowest decontamination effectiveness, equivalent to distilled water (PR=1.0 to 43.2).
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Military Health Sciences, University of Defence, Kralove, Czech Republic. misik@pmfhk.cz
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Misík
authors.forename: Růžena
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pavliková
authors.forename: Kamil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuča
mesh_terms: D000279:Administration, Cutaneous; D000818:Animals; D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents / Q000633:toxicity; D003666:Decontamination / Q000379:methods*; D003902:Detergents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D008297:Male; D009946:Organothiophosphorus Compounds / Q000633:toxicity*; D010261:Paraoxon / Q000633:toxicity*; D010575:Pesticides / Q000633:toxicity; D020011:Protective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012999:Soman / Q000633:toxicity*; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents; D003902:Detergents; D009946:Organothiophosphorus Compounds; D010261:Paraoxon; D010575:Pesticides; D020011:Protective Agents; D012999:Soman; C009680:VX-agent